Russia Ready to Electrify Tehran-Tabriz Railway

Russian Railways is ready to help electrify Tehran-Tabriz railway to connect the Iranian capital to the northwestern city, First Vice President of the Russian Railways Operator Alexander Misharin said.

This issue was discussed today with the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways (RAI) Saeed Mohammadzadeh, Misharin added, the Tass news agency reported on Wednesday.

“We are discussing the following electrification segments: Tehran – Tabriz, around 600 km,” he said.

Appropriate agreements can be made this year, Misharin added.

Russia and Iran signed an agreement worth €1.2 billion in November 2015 to electrify a train line that would connect north-central Iran to the northeastern border with Turkmenistan.

The agreement between Russian Railways and the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways (RAI) envisages constructing power stations and overhead power lines along the Garmsar-Sari-Gorgan-Inche Burun route in Iran.

The train line, among the first in Iran with a history of 80 years, extends to Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan and links the Central Asia to the Persian Gulf and beyond.